Yet, the firm still plans to deliver the first of the ships in 2018, as originally announced.

HALIFAX — The president of Irving Shipbuilding says putting all the pieces together for the construction of Canada’s first Arctic offshore patrol ship on time and within budget is a “significant challenge.”

Kevin McCoy said while attending a defence industry conference in Halifax that his firm still plans to deliver the first of the ships in 2018, as originally announced.

However, he told reporters at a defence conference that creating a shipyard from scratch, putting over 700 work procedures in place and creating a Canadian supply chain for shipbuilding materials isn’t easy.

He also said he realizes that the new Liberal government is observing his company’s progress on the offshore patrol ships as “a warmup” for the yet-to-be finalized contract for the replacements for Canada’s aging warships.

McCoy announced during his speech that the shipyard currently has 50 of the 64 modular pieces of the first Arctic patrol vessel HMCS Harry Dewolf in its facility, and it cut steel last month for the second vessel HMCS Margaret Brooke.

He said the ship contracts are a big contributor to the Nova Scotian and Canadian economy, as the yard currently has 1,300 employees and is in the midst of hiring 100 to 200 more shipbuilders.